Please help me configure my emulator

[ynonuv]

Hello. I've been trying to figure out how to get PCSX2 to work properly for awhile, and since I still can't get it right, I've decided to ask the experts here. I'll try to be as specific as possible, and if anybody can help me out, it would be much appreciated.

I'll be playing RPGs exclusively on the emulator, specifically I need to run:

Grandia Xtreme
Grandia III
Tales of the Abyss

Here are my computer stats. I've been told this will do, but you be the judge. I don't seek the highest quality graphics or sound, I just want it to run at normal speed. As long as it is playable, I'm content.

AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor 4850e
3 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium

My problem is mainly that the game runs a little too slow and that the textures tend to...I dunno how to describe, this...scroll? I tried reducing the settings and things then tend to just kind of freeze.

I know I'm asking for a lot of info here, but this is all greek to me. What plug-ins would you suggest and what settings for each should I use? If I should post any more information, I'd be happy to do so of course. I have the emulator set to highest priority and I turn off any other programs that may take up a lot of power when I'm using it. With my limited computer knowledge, I am thinking the processor may be the problem. If so, what is an affordable processor I could replace it with that would give me full speed?

Thank you.

[Bright-Warrior]

[...]
I don't seek the highest quality graphics or sound, I just want it to run at normal speed. As long as it is playable, I'm content.
[...]

That's a good prerequisite concerning emulation^^.

There're some things you can try, but unfortunately I don't own any of the games you want to play, so I don't know how they'll be working for them. But we will see.

First, use the latest beta and the latest plugins. They will give you a nice speedup and a higher compatibility. And perhaps they even fix your problem with the textures.

Then you can try to use some speed hacks. But not all at once. Enable one, look if it helps you, deactivate it, enable the next a.s.o. When you're done, enable all the ones that helped you. That will give you more speed as well.

About the plugins: Usually GSDX will be the graphic plugin of your choice. It really is the best one, regarding speed and compatibility. For sound usually SPU2-X is the best, but some games don't like it. Then you should try another one, but usually SPU2-X will do a good job. As controller plugin I usually use LilyPad, but I honestly never tried another one. But it is very popular so I think I can recommend this. As CDVD plugin you should use Linuz Iso. But remember not to mount the image of your game with a program like Deamon Tools, this might cause crashes a.s.o. Just select it via Linuz Iso and you're fine.

[jesalvein]

http://pcsx2.net/guide.php

[quasi]

sorry to hijack your thread, but i've been having more or less the same exact problem. i was testing out fate/unlimited codes and configured the program according to the guide as far as i understood it, but still ran into speed issues. and it runs smoothly at 60 fps for loading and menus and character selection, but once it gets to the actual fighting, it slows down to 30fps. then i tried varying the settings for the graphics component, and they've all been more or less the same. is there a better way to optimize it? i'm also aiming for playability (50+ fps).

my relevant specs:
OS = Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
CPU = Intel C2D P8400 (2.26 GHz)
GPU = nVidia GeForce 9600M GT

thanks

[Bright-Warrior]

I don't own this game either, but it's possible that your CPU is just not strong enough to run this game with 50 fps or more since it's rather weak. You can try the things I already suggested above, if you haven't done this already. Additionally you can set the "Clamp mode" to "None", which will most likely give you more fps as well. Or break your game, you need luck here .

[dr_thrax]

Fate/Unlimited Codes is GPU intensive, especially at higher resolution.
Your laptop just doesn't have the horse power to run it.
Try checking native res and use some speed hacks.